In this June 30 file photo, a passenger, left, talks with a station employee on a platform after getting off a high-speed bullet train where a man set himself of fire, at Odawara station, west of Tokyo
A fatal fire on Japan’s bullet train, started by a man who self-immolated last week, has revealed blind spots in a system renowned for its speed, punctuality and safety record.
Riding the Shinkansen feels like being in an airplane: at 300 kilometers per hour, it goes so fast in an out of tunnels that it must be airtight. Windows cannot be opened, and doors open only when the train fully stops, which takes several minutes.
Yet, in a country with strict gun control and low crime rate, security is lax — no identification or baggage checks required.
On Tuesday, Haruo Hayashizaki, a 71-year-old retiree, poured a flammable liquid over himself and lit it while riding a bullet train heading to Osaka from Tokyo. He died on the spot, and smoke filled the coach, choking a female passenger to death.
It was the first fire in the train’s 50-year history. Experts say it was a wake-up call to something more disastrous, potentially a terrorist attack, and it’s time to step up risk management ahead of the G-7 summit in Japan next year and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“The incident took advantage of the blind spots on the Shinkansen,” said Seiji Abe, an expert on transportation safety at Kansai University in Osaka. “Fire caused by malicious intentions was not anticipated, and provisions to keep out hazardous materials were not in place.”
So far, authorities haven’t found any mishandling by the train operator, but the initial investigation and witness accounts have raised questions, including how quickly crew members grasped the situation and whether there should be a better way to clear smoke from the hermetically sealed cars.
A passenger pushed an emergency button, but unlike some newer models, this train was not equipped with an emergency intercom, said Tomoyuki Sano, a spokesman for Central Japan Railway Co., which operates the Tokyo-Osaka segment of the bullet train.
Satoru Sone, an expert on railway safety at Kogakuin University in Tokyo, said that the power should never be turned off, because ventilation is crucial to getting smoke out. He also said an emergency button with an intercom should be installed.
“In Japan, everyone is so complacent about safety while on a train, unlike overseas,” he said, noting that trains elsewhere have been targeted by terrorists and are often less reliable, so smoke resulting from mechanical troubles is not uncommon. Mari Yamaguchi, Tokyo, AP
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